Internal Flow Dynamics and Regression Rate in Hybrid Rocket Combustion

Abstract

The present study is the analyses of what has been attempted and what was understood in terms of improving the regression rate and enlarging the basic understanding of internal flow dynamics. The first part is mainly intended to assess the role of helical grain configuration in the regression rate inside the hybrid rocket motor. To improve the regression rate, a combination of swirl (which is an active method) and helical grain (which is a passive method) was adopted. The second part is devoted to the internal flow dynamics of hybrid rocket combustion. A large eddy simulation was also performed with an objective of understanding the origin of isolated surface roughness patterns seen in several recent experiments. Several turbulent statistics and correlations indicate that the wall injection drastically changes the characteristics of the near-wall turbulence. Contours of instantaneous streamwise velocity in the plane close to the wall clearly show that the structural feature has been significantly altered by the application of wall injection, which is reminiscent of the isolated roughness patterns found in several experiments.